End trimmers for shingle surfacing machines



April 5, 1955 J. F. LATTA 2,705,511

END TRIMMERS FOR SHINGLE' SURFACING MACHINES Filed Dec. 14 1955 sSheets-Sheet 2 o no m l l l NI. 1 77% al B H; 1 w l ATTORNEY April 5,1955 J. F. LATTA 2,705,511

END TRIMMERS FOR SHINGLE SURFACING MACHINES Filed Dec. 14, 1953 aSheets-Sheet a l I g 6 [1:1] si 97 g I00 I06 I08 INVENTOR JOHN E LATTAATTORNEY United States Patent END: TRIMMERS FOR SHINGLE SURFACINGMACHINES M'y invention relates to" improvements in end trimmers which isparticularly adapted for use in trimming the ends of shingles as theyemerge from the discharge end of a shingle processing machine.

The operation of the presentflday' shingle processing machine is suchthat each processed shingle is discharged so" fast that it cannot be endtrimmed with accuracy be= fore the next shingle is delivered to the trimsaw. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide twotrim saws and means for feeding the shingle to the trim sa'ws and toprovide a shingle gripping device which will receive each shingle as itis delivered by the processing machine: and hold it: firmly,irrespective of its width, to carry it; across one of said trim saws; Afurther object is to' provide a gripping device which will close rapidlyonto the: sides of the shingle without causing it to spring out of shapeor' suffer any damage from the gripping elements; A still further objectis toprovide means whereby the device remains at rest until a shingle isin place on the receiving member for trimming, so that the shinglesthemselves will become the timing means for controlling the operation ofthe trimmer.

While the device as herein to be described is dealt with in the trimmingof shingles, it will be fully realized that it could be used equallywell for the trimming of the ends of? other panel stock.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a view' of the invention in plan.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view.

igure 3 is a sectional plan view through the table taken on: the line 33of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view looking" down and taken on the line 4-4 ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of the means for reversing thetravel of the; main cylinder with the switch. in open position.

Figure 6 is anenlarged detail view of the means for reversing the travelof the auxiliary cylinder with the switchin position to move the fenceto the right.

Figure 7 (sheet 1 is a diagrammatic view of the air pressure cylindercontrols.

Figure 8 (sheet 3) is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuits;

Figure 9 (sheet 2) is a diagrammatic view showing progressive steps A toH in the movement of the fences.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in each figure.

The numeral 1 indicates the discharge end of a shingle groover or otherprocessing machine front which shingles to be end trimmed are adapted toslide onto the bed 2 of the invention, see Figures 1, 2, 3 and 9'. Thebed 2 is inclined at a suitable angle for the shingles to slide freelydown towards its lower end and is divided into separate areas defining acentre or receiving panel 4 and trimming and discharge side panels 5.The receiving. panel 4 is provided with a plate 7 at its upper endhaving a lower edge projecting out from the surface of the panel 4 toprovide an upper stop 8 for the shingles to be trimmed. An elongatedopening 10 is formed. near the bottom edge ot the panel 4 beneath whicha photo-electric cell. 12 is mounted. and secured to the panel is abracket 14 which carries a source of light 15 to energize the cell 12.

Mounted at the base of the bed 2 is a pair of bearings 17 in whichsliding rods 18 are guided for movement parallel to the bed. These rodsare connected at their lower ends with a. spacer bar 19 and at theirupper ends to a line at right angles to their with a transverse liftmember 20 upon which each shingle drops tip downwards to rest to coverthe opening 10 and cut the beam from the source of light 15. A doubleacting air operated lift cylinder 21 is mounted behind the bed 2, seeFigure 2', and has ports 22 and 23 and a piston rod 24, see Figure 7.The spacer bar 19 is fitted with a downwardly extending rod 25 whichpasses through an arm 26 on the free end of the piston rod 24 and isfitted With a coil spring 28 for the purpose of cushioning upwardmovement of the lift member 20 so as to prevent damage to the thin tipend of a shingle carried thereon.

The side panels 5 of the bed 2 are each slotted as at 3d to allow saws31 mounted upon the shafts of motors 32 and 33 to project to trim offthe butts of the shingles side edges.

Mounted upon therear of the bed 2 is a main air operated cylinder 35 ofthe double acting type having ports 36 and 37, see Figure 7, and apiston rod 39. The piston rod 39 is connected by a side arm 40 (Figure3) to a slide 41 which is endwise movable in a slot 43 in the bed 2, seeFigures 1 and 3. Mounted transversely of the slide plate 51 is a thrustfence 45 which is adapted to initially engage each shingle and move itto the right or left as the case may be. An auxiliary air operated.cylinder 48, see Figures 3 and 4, is mounted horizontally of the bed 2,which cylinder is also double acting. having ports and 51, see Figure 7,and a piston rod 52. This cylinder is mounted on brackets 53 extendingrearwardly of the bed and its piston rod :32 is connected to arectangular frame 54 having sliding members. 55 extending through thelower ends of. the brackets $3 and connecting members 56, one of whichis connected to an end of the piston rod 52. The corners of the frame 54support pairs of standards 58 which. extend through transverse pairs ofslots 59 in the bed. 2. Each pair of standards 58 carries an inclinedauxiliary fence respectively indicated by the numerals 6D and 61 whichobviously move in unison across the bed 2.

The lift cylinder 21 and the auxiliary cylinder 48 are operated from asource of compressed air from a main supply pipe 65, see Figure 7, whichleads: through a pressure regulator 66 to a solenoid reversing valve 67which is provided with an exhaust 68 and is connected by pipes 7i) and71 to the ports 36 and 37 respectively of the main cylinder 35, so thatpressure will always be on the. piston rod 39 to move the main fence 45in a desired direction and to hold said piston rod immovable at the endof each stroke. A branch pipe 73 leads from the pipe and delivers airthrough a pressure regulator 74- to a solenoid valve 76 thence past anormally closed solenoid valve 77 and to the port 51 of the auxiliarycylinder 48. Air also leads through a pipe '79 to a solenoid valve 80,thence past a normally closed solenoid valve 81 and to the port Sit oithe auxiliary cylinder 48. The valve 67 is adapted, when energized, todirect air pressure through the port 37 of the main cylinder 35' andWhen deienergized to direct air pressure through the port 36 and saidvalve is also adapted to exhaust the air to atmosphere from saidcylinder through the exhaust port 68. The solenoid valve 76 serves toadmit air to the port 51 of the auxiliary cylinder 48' and through anelectrical circuit to be later described, said port is exhausted throughsolenoid valve 77. The solenoid valve Sil' serves alternately to admitair to the port 5% of cylinder 48 and through another electrical circuitto be hereinafter described, said port is ex.- ha-usted through thesolenoid valve 81.

Another branch pipe 82 is fitted with a pressure regulator 83 and asolenoid valve 84 which are connected to the pipe 65. The solenoid valve84 is provided with an. exhaust 85 and is connected by pipes 35A and 853tothe ports 22 and 2.3 respectively of the lift cylinder 21.. The valve84 is actuated by a circuit controlled by the photoelectric cell 12, soas to direct air pressure through either of the ports 22 and 23 and toexhaust air to atmosphere through the port 85.

Mounted upon the rear of the bed 2 in alignment with the main cylinder35 is a switch 86 (Figs. 3 and 5) having a spring tensioned toggle armtrip 87 which is adapted to be thrown over to open circuit position by astem 88 on the free end of the piston rod 39 on reaching; its outermostposition, as when the thrust fence 45 has moved a shingle to the left tothe limit of its stroke, as shown in Figure 5.

A light rod 89 is connected to the spring tensioning member 90 of thetrip 87 and extends through an eyed arm 91 attached to the piston rod 39and is fitted at its free end with a stop 92, so that as said piston rodreaches its innermost position the eyed arm 91 engages the stop 92 andmoves the trip of the switch 86 to closed position.

A pair of standards 96, see Figures 3 and 4, extend rearwardly of thebed and support guides 97 in which a rod 98 is slidably mounted. Thisrod is slidably engaged by an eyed bracket 100 secured to the frame 54,see Figure 6. The rod 98 is fitted with two stops 102 and 103 and also apressure member 105 having a rounded cam face 106 and suitably mountedon a stationary part of the bed structure is a press button double polenormally open and normally closed switch 108. This switch is adapted tobe operated to close one circuit as the frame 54 moves to the end of itsstroke to the right and causes the bracket 100 to engage the stop 103 tomove the rod 98 so that the member 105 engages the button of said switchand is adapted to be operated to close the other circuit as the frame 54moves to the left and causes the member 100 to engage the stop 102 towithdraw the presser member 105 from the button of said switch. Pushbutton normally closed switches 110 and 111 (Fig. 4) are disposed onstationary parts of the auxiliary cylinder mounting and are adapted tobe alternatively engaged by stops 112 on the frame 54 to limit thetravel of said frame and the fences 60 and 61.

Mounted beneath the bed 2 in alignment with the slot 43 is a normallyopen switch 114 and a normally closed switch 115 (Fig. 3), both being ofthe push button type and adapted to be alternately engaged by the sidearm 40 as the fence 45 reaches the limits of its travel.

The control of the air cylinders 21, 35 and 48 is by line currentenergizing a relay 121 which controls the actuation of the severalvalves and switches hereinbefore described. Withthe trimmer at rest thephotoelectric cell will be energized since light will be passing fromthe light source to the photo-electric cell 12 and the relay 121, seediagram Figure 8, will have its controlled circuit open. Assuming thefences 60, 61 and 45 to be in the position shown in diagram A of Figure9 and the air pressure to the supply pipe 65 to be on, as soon as ashingle falls to cut the light beam the relay 121 will connect linecurrent to the solenoid valve 84, energizing same and cause the cylinder21 to function to raise the shingle to the stop 8, see diagram A ofFigure 9 and Figures 1 and 2. At the same time the relay 121 also causesline current to flow through the switch 86 to the solenoid valve 67which supplies air to the main cylinder 35, so that the fence 45 pushesthe shingle across to the fence 60, see diagram B of Figure 9. Theinitial movement of the fence 45 allows the switch 115 to close andsupply current simultaneously with the relay 121 and as the auxiliaryfence 60 is moved incidental to the thrust of the thrust fence pressingthe shingle into engagement therewith the switch 110 is allowed toclose. The closing of the switch 110 connects the line to the valve 76which permits air to move the auxiliary fence in the same direction asthe thrust fence with the shingle gripped therebetween and the samecurrent opens the valve 81 to exhaust the piston end of the auxiliarycylinder 48. The pressure regulators 66 and 74 are so adjusted that themain cylinder tends to lead the auxiliary cylinder, so that the shingleis firmly gripped between the fences and the line cut by the trim saw 31which the shingle is passing, will be perfectly straight and true withrespect to its side edges. When the shingle breaks the light beam to thephoto-electric cell 12 the relay 121 is again energized and the valve 84allows the member to drop to its original position ready for the nextshingle. The current energizing the valve 76 is sustained through switch115 and switch 86 so that the fence 45 continues to move to the end ofits stroke, see diagram C of Figure 9, and the fence 60 continues tomove in the same direction whereby the fence 60 releases the shingle,see diagram D, and allows it to drop to be carried away by one of theconveyors 130. As the auxiliary fence reaches the end of its stroke theswitch 111 is opened and the switch 108 is reversed as in Figure 6, thefence 45 previously having closed the switch 114 and opened the switch86 as shown in Figure 5.

It will be noticed that the solenoid valve 67 remains energized by linecurrent through the energized relay 121 and the closed switch 114 so thethrust fence is held by air pressure at the end of its stroke. Thedevice is now ready to receive another shingle from the processingmachine and as said shingle drops similar functions take place asdescribed above except that the valve 67 is deenergized to direct airpresure through the port 36 and move the fence 45 to the right so as tourge the shingle into contact with the auxiliaryfence 61. Both fenceswill move as shown in diagrams E to H of Figure 9, to carry the shinglepast its trim saw and finally release it to drop upon the secondconveyor for removal and such other processing as may be desired.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A shingle trimmer comprising a bed divided into a shingle receivingpanel and a trimming panel both lying in a single plane, said bed beinginclined to permit shingles received to slide downwardly thereon, a stopadjacent the upper end of the receiving panel, a lift member adjacentthe lower end of said receiving panel, a photo-electric cell below theface of the receiving panel, means for directing a beam of light ontosaid photoelectric cell, said beam of light being adapted forinterruption by a shingle reaching the lift member, a trimsaw mounted onthe trimming panel, a thrust fence and an auxiliary fence adapted formovement transversely of the bed, separate means controlled by thephoto-electric cell for imparting movement to the lift member and thefences subsequent to the interruption of the light beam by the shingleto be trimmed in the following steps, first to raise the shingle liftmember to raise the upper end of the shingle into engagement with thestop, second to move the thrust fence to engage the shingle and move itinto contact with the auxiliary fence, and third to move both fencessimultaneously with the shingle gripped therebetween past the trim sawand beyond the light beam, means to sustain the moving means inoperation after the path of the light beam is restored, and means tostop the thrust fence movement and to sustain the auxiliary fencemovement to continue to release the shingle to discharge.

2. A shingle trimmer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a trimming panel isprovided on opposite sides of the shingle receiving panel, each of whichtrimming panels is provided with a trimming saw and an auxiliary fencethe second of which fences is coupled with the first named auxiliaryfence, said fences'being spaced apart on opposite sides of the thrustfence whereby a shingle is adapted to be gripped between the thrustfence and an auxiliary fence alternately and moved across its adjacenttrimming saw, and means are provided for reversing the movement of thefences after each shingle is released from its engaging fences.

3. In a shingle trimmer having a shingle receiving panel and shingletrimming panels on opposite sides of the receiving panel, each of saidtrimming panels having a trim saw, a thrust fence normally at rest toone side of the shingle receiving panel, a pair of auxiliary fencesspaced apart on opposite sides of the thrust fence, said auxiliaryfences when normally at rest having one of them at rest adjacent theopposite side of the receiving panel to admit the placement of a shingletherebetween, means for lifting a shingle on the receiving panel intoposition for engagement by one of the trimming saws, means for movingthe thrust fence into engagement with the shingle upon the receivingpanel and for thrusting said shingle into gripping position between saidfence and the adjacent auxiliary fence onto a trimming panel past itssaw and means other than the thrust of the thrust fence for moving theauxiliary fence simultaneously with the movement of the thrust fence,said means serving to continue moving the auxiliary fence after thethrust fence has reached the end of its stroke. a

4. A shingle trimmer comprising an inclined bed having a shinglereceiving panel and a trimming panel on each side thereof, a stopadjacent the upper end of the shingle receiving panel, a trim sawmounted upon each of said trimming panels to trim shingles along a lineparallel to the face of the stop, a photo-electric cell mounted adjacenta face of the shingle receiving panel adapted to be deenergized by themovement of a shingle onto said panel, a main cylinder having a pistonrod, a thrust fence actuated by said rod to cause said fence to traversethe receiving panel, an auxiliary cylinder having a piston rod coupledto spaced auxiliary fences to cause them to traverse the trimmingpanels, a lift cylinder'having a piston rod coupled to a lift memberadapted to receive a shingle as it is delivered to the receiving panel,said shingle when so received being adapted to disrupt a light beamdirected onto the photo-electric cell, a relay actuated by said cell, acircuit for said relay, each of said. cylinders having an electricallyoperated valve to control the fluid pressure thereto, said lift cylindervalve being included in the relay circuit and adapted to be energized otraise the shingle into position to be trimmed, said main cylinder valvebeing adapted to be operated incidental to the energizing of the relayto move the shingle into engagement with the auxiliary fence, meansactuated in response to initial movement of the auxiliary fence toenergize the auxiliary cylinder valve whereby the shingle is movedacross one of said saws while gripped between the fences, means actuatedin response to the initial movement of the thrust fence to sustain thecurrent to the main cylinder valve as the shingle is moved to expose thecell to its light source and a means actuated as the auxiliary pistonrod reaches the end of its stroke for deenergizing the auxiliary valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS707,641 Rostochil Aug. 26, 1902 725,630 Smith .2 Apr. 14, 1903 i,038,544Ensign Sept. 17, 1912 1,075,918 Kaylor Oct. 14, 1913 1,934,207 PennockNov. 7, 1933 2,440,994 Wilde May 4, 1948 2,452,402 Stringe Oct. 26, 1948

